


O Christmas Tree

by magicandarchery



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Holidays, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 10:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9067687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicandarchery/pseuds/magicandarchery
Summary: Magnus hadn’t been short on gift ideas for Alec when he had originally asked Alec what it was he wanted for Christmas; but he also wanted to give Alec something that Alec had always wanted but had never actually gotten. A real Christmas tree had not been the answer Magnus had expected to receive.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [@downworlderdanceparty](http://downworlderdanceparty.tumblr.com) for the Malec Secret Santa gift exchange

“Alexander, you do know there are trees that already have lights on them and which would have made this process much quicker, right?” Magnus teased as he stood back and admired the Christmas tree that they had both spent more time than Magnus wanted to admit stringing lights onto.   
  
Alec had been meticulous as he had wrapped lights around every branch, both inner and outer, so that as Magnus admired Alec’s work there was nowhere on the tree that wasn’t illuminated by the soft white glow of Christmas lights.   
  
Magnus looked away from the tree as Alec pushed the sleeves of his cozy olive green sweater (Magnus’ favorite) up his forearms and where the strong muscles of his forearms twitched under the skin with the movement, Magnus saw faint pink lines on his skin that hadn’t been there before.   
  
Apparently lighting a Christmas tree was a dangerous undertaking and Magnus tried to hide the grin that threatened to spread as he thought of the (probably unnecessary) TLC he could give those small scratches later on.   
  
“Yes, but those trees are fake,” Alec grinned at him and set aside boxes of unopened light sets to be dealt with later and picked white and silver garland out of a shopping bag.   
  
Magnus hadn’t been short on gift ideas for Alec when he had originally asked Alec what it was he wanted for Christmas; but he also wanted to give Alec something that Alec had always wanted but had never actually gotten. A real Christmas tree had not been the answer Magnus had expected to receive, but in every way it was Alec. It was simple and traditional and honored the immaterial yearnings that Alec held deep within. So Magnus had followed Alec to tree lot after tree lot until they had found the perfect one. And while Magnus had a few of his own decorations for the tree, he insisted that they brave the stores for Alec to pick out decorations of his own so that they could make it theirs.   
  
Both Alec and Magnus looked up at the sound of the front door opening and closing, Alec pausing in gathering up the garland in his hands.   
  
“Hola, big brother!” Isabelle called from the entryway as she kicked off her boots and hung up her coat and scarf before turning into the living area, Jace at her heels with a box in his hands.   
  
“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Alec asked, surprised to see them so early. Isabelle had texted him to say that she and Jace might drop in, but that it wouldn’t be until later. He set down the garland and pulled Isabelle into a tight, comfortable hug.   
  
“We brought you something,” Jace answered as he set the box down on the floor in front of the couch and Magnus eyed it, wondering what sort of gift could be that large and why they would give it to Alec so early.   
  
Alec eyed Jace as he tilted his head, the white lights on the tree reflecting in his hazel eyes, before a slow grin started to spread on his face. “You didn’t.”   
  
“We did,” Isabelle answered and hugged Alec tighter around the waist.   
  
“Did what?” Magnus asked, looking between the siblings and the grins on each of their faces.   
  
“These are all of Alec’s Christmas ornaments from when he was growing up.” Isabelle explained as she moved away from Alec and sat down on the couch, opening up the box. Magnus peered in and saw at least twenty ornaments, all individually wrapped in tissue paper.   
  
So that explained why Alec had chosen so few ornaments on their shopping trip.   
  
Magnus moved in closer to Alec until they were touching. “Did you know they were going to do this?” he asked quietly, letting his chin rest on Alec’s shoulder as he spoke.   
  
“I thought they might, but didn’t know for sure,” Alec answered just as quietly as he turned his head and smiled gently at Magnus before dropping a quick kiss into Magnus’ hair.   
  
“Please tell me there are some truly embarrassing homemade ornaments in that box,” Magnus grinned at Isabelle and Jace and they both just nodded.   
  
“Oh yeah. The Christmas tree made out of pretzels is my favorite,” Jace grinned as he joined Isabelle on the couch.   
  
“Oh no,” Isabelle laughed, “the reindeer made out of a white bell with the lopsided, crazy googly eyes is, by far, the best.”   
  
“Alec also had a _thing_ for glitter as a child too,” Jace teased and Magnus glanced over to see Alec’s face turning a slow shade of light pink as he shook his head but smiled fondly at his adopted brother.   
  
“Is that so?” Magnus grinned and affectionately nudged Alec’s elbow as Alec looked toward the ceiling and closed his eyes but laughed lightly. Magnus looked back at Jace and Isabelle. “I’ll go make some hot cider. I want to hear every story behind these decorations.”   
  
“We actually can’t stay. We were on our way to meet Simon and Clary for lunch, but stopped because we had to pass you on our way there.” Isabelle said as she wrapped a blue and white ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ ornament back in its tissue paper and set it carefully in the box before standing.   
  
Alec hugged both Isabelle and Jace as they left, still pretending to be annoyed with them but really he was more than touched that they had picked through their parents’ Christmas boxes in storage to bring him what was his.   
  
When Jace and Isabelle were gone, Alec returned to the living room and gathered up the garland again. Magnus trailed after him in silence, keeping the garland from getting tangled, observing as Alec focused on placing it on each branch perfectly to give the illusion of freshly fallen snow.   
  
“Despite what Izzy and Jace want you to believe,” Alec began as he moved over to the box and started unwrapping an ornament, “there really aren’t any truly embarrassing stories behind the ornaments. We made a lot of them at school, mom and dad bought them, we got them as gifts, things like that.”   
  
“But I do think Jace was right about the glitter,” Magnus grinned as he held up a silver bulb ornament, painted with snowmen and trees all around and the bottom thickly covered in white glitter.   
  
“That was meant to be snow,” Alec defended himself as he hung the ornament in his hand on the tree.  “And Izzy begged me to do it so that the ornament she made wasn’t the only sparkly one.”   
  
_Typical Alec,_ Magnus thought with a smile, _always trying to make Izzy smile_.   
  
One by one, they hung each ornament on the tree. There were occasional stories behind ornaments that Alec would unwrap and he would tell them to Magnus, especially the ones that Alec either made or chose for himself (it had been a tradition that he and Isabelle, Jace, and Max all picked out a new ornament each year). They were the story of Alec’s life, of his interests, of his struggles, of his sense of humor, of what he loved and held most dear to his heart, and it was a gift that Magnus would always treasure.   
  
When they were done, Alec retreated to the kitchen to make hot chocolate while Magnus stoked a fire in the hearth.   
  
Once the fire was blazing Magnus quietly slipped out of the living room into his study and pulled a small, wrapped gift out of his desk drawer, returning to the living room just as Alec was settling on the couch with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate in his hands.   
  
Magnus joined him on the couch, curling his legs underneath him as he took the mug Alec offered him and glanced over at the tree. It was bright and beautiful, filled with symbols of both he and Alec individually. But the tree was by no means full. There was still plenty of space to fill in, to tell more stories.   
  
To tell _their_ story.   
  
Magnus sipped slowly at his hot chocolate and handed Alec the gift.   
  
Alec took it and looked at Magnus with a slightly raised eyebrow (Magnus didn’t know anyone who had mastered that art better than Alec) and Magnus propped his head up on his hand, resting his elbow on the back of the couch.   
  
“I have to give this to you early because it’s part of this,” Magnus nodded toward the tree as Alec inspected the wrapped object in his hand while he leaned forward and set his mug on the coffee table.   
  
Magnus admired the way that Alec’s long, slender fingers unwrapped the box and opened it, tilting his head and pressing his lips together at the ornament inside, and Magnus felt his heart starting to race in his chest and his stomach start to flutter. He hadn’t been looking for it, but had stumbled upon it as he had been scrolling through a website for other gifts he had planned to buy Alec.   
  
Alec removed it gently from the packaging and held it up to look at it better — two glass doves with their wings outstretched, flying toward each other as the tips of their beaks melded together in an eternal kiss — cradling it so delicately in his grasp. How Magnus had found an ornament that seemed to perfectly embody how they had found themselves drawn toward each other, navigating obstacles that others might see as impossible to overcome, and making things work in spite of all of it, Alec didn’t know. But it was perfect.   
  
The lights on the tree and the fire in the hearth lit Alec’s face and drew Magnus’ attention to Alec’s eyes that were shining and bright and Magnus leaned in closer to him until his chin was again resting on Alec’s shoulder.   
  
“I thought that this could be the start of us making our own Christmas traditions,” Magnus explained quietly, gently carding his fingers through the hair on the back of Alec’s neck.   
  
Alec turned his head and Magnus’ hand dropped to rest against the back of his neck, matching Magnus’ quiet tone when he finally said, “it’s perfect.”   
  
He kissed Magnus gently before standing and crossing the room to the tree. Alec rearranged a couple of ornaments before hanging the dove ornament at the very front and very top of the tree. Magnus agreed that it was a fitting spot.   
  
Alec picked up his mug of hot chocolate as he sat back on the couch again, propping his feet up on the coffee table as he settled against Magnus. They sat in comfortable silence, listening to the fire crackling in the grate. Magnus’ fingers slowly raked through Alec’s dark hair again until Alec looked up at him and the fire brought out the dark honey color of his eyes.

“You never did tell me what you wanted for Christmas,” Alec said casually.

Magnus could only smile at Alec. “I have everything I want right here.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr [@magicandarchery](http://magicandarchery.tumblr.com) and on twitter [@magicandarchery](https://twitter.com/magicandarchery)


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